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source: www.wearthecapekids.com
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The U.S. immigration
officer told a young Colombian woman that he wanted sex, once or twice, and in
return would give her a green card, the coveted document that would allow her
to live and work in the United States permanently. What he did not know was
that the conversation was recorded on a digital camera in her pocket and used
as evidence in a case of "sextortion", a form of corruption that
involves officials abusing their power to obtain a sexual favour.
Interpol,
the international police organization, says reports indicate sextortion is a
growing problem globally but it often goes under the radar, prompting a growing
campaign to raise awareness about the crime and push for more prosecutions.
"Sextortion
is very widespread, but it is one of the hardest-to-prove forms of
corruption," Nancy Hendry, senior advisor at the International Association
of Women Judges (IAWJ), which coined the term and is pushing for change, told a
corruption conference this week.
Reuters report continues:
Prosecutors
often have hard evidence and anti-corruption laws to charge people in authority
caught taking bribes.
But
when sex is involved, prosecution is harder because evidence is elusive, the
law is unclear and victims often shy away from coming forward for fear of being
shamed.
As
a result, corruption prosecutions for sextortion remain relatively few because
there are rarely witnesses and evidence, short of video or audio recordings,
are difficult to get.
But
through greater awareness, the judges hope sextortion gets the same attention
and penalties as sexual harassment and domestic violence, crimes also once
ignored or unquestioned.
"People
tend to dismiss this, partly because it is seen as part of life," Hendry
told delegates at the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in
Malaysia during a panel debate.
"But
it shouldn't be, just like sexual harassment or domestic violence are
unacceptable."
BEHIND
CLOSED DOORS
The
demand for a sexual favour can be explicit or implicit, and usually employs
fear rather than physical forms of coercion.
It
does not have to involve sexual intercourse or even physical touching, but can
be any form of unwanted sexual activity, including exposing body parts or
posing for sexual photographs or videos, the IAWJ says.
Many
sextortion cases happen in the workplace or in educational institutions, where
"sex for grades" cases may be prosecuted under sexual harassment
laws.
Han
Chee Rull, deputy commissioner at the office of legal research of the Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission, said sextortion is hard to prove as it is carried
out in secrecy.
"Proof
is also often hard to obtain due to a lack of evidence of physical violence
because perpetrators and victims exchange sexual favours as a quid pro
quo," he said, adding Malaysia has prosecuted only two cases.
The
number of people affected by sextortion is not available, partly because there
is no standard procedure to record and document it as an offence.
A
2014 study by the IAWJ and the Thomson Reuters Foundation on laws in Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Kenya, Mexico, Taiwan, Uganda and Britain found none
of the nine countries had adopted laws that use the term sextortion.
Justice
Engera Kileo, chairwoman of the Tanzania Women Judges Association, said
Tanzania in 2007 recognised the solicitation of sexual favours through abuse of
authority as a form of corruption, but the law was too weak to handle this.
This
year, however, the east African country issued guidelines establishing a
mechanism for people to report sexual abuse to various public offices
anonymously through letters, emails or in person and highlighted disciplinary
measures that could be taken against public officials abusing their power.
"Building awareness
and training officials is a key part of our work to stop sextortion from
happening in the first place," Kileo said.
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